Untitled
by silversinkingdestiny
Summary: Leon Kennedy is sent on a mission, and winds up getting injured at the hands of creatures he's never seen before, only to be rescued by a mercenary with a seemingly carefree attitude. Little does he know that not everything is as it seems. (Now marked because FFN has implemented an actual system. OK COOL BYE.)
1. Chapter 1

He felt like he'd been hit by a bus. He was warm, which was a change from earlier, but he still felt like he'd been hit by a bus. Where the hell was he anyway? The last thing he remember was falling onto the cold, dark, rain soaked street, as several creatures he'd never seen before descended upon him, knocking him out. He wasn't sure of what they were, but he was sure that they weren't infectees.

Leon Kennedy winced but didn't open his eyes at first, honestly not sure if they would focus immediately if he did anyway. Judging by the fact that it was much warmer where he was now and the fact that he could hear rain hitting window panes somewhere, he was inside a building. But where? Finally, he groggily opened his eyes to study his surroundings.

Apparently he was laying on a couch in some kind of office. In the corner was a juke box along the same wall as a large door, and while due to his injuries, he couldn't move a great deal, he could see a multitude of what looked to be weapons hanging off one of the walls to the side out of the corner of his eye. In the periphery of his vision he also caught sight of a desk. Where the hell was he?

Leon reached down for one of his guns to find his weapons had been stripped. Giving a slight hiss in pain, he forced himself to move to get a better look at the surroundings behind him. It appeared all his weapons lay on the desk behind him, but with his injuries, moving wasn't exactly an option at the moment. He was stuck. Shit.

He laid back against the arm of the leather couch finally looking down at himself, his shirt had been removed, his wounds bandaged. This could be good or bad. Either it meant someone had brought him in and essentially saved him, or whoever was behind those creatures brought him in as a captive and decided to heal him before toying with him. Leon had dealt with both types before. The government agent brought a hand up to his face and rubbed his eyes. What was going on here?

That's when he heard voices. Instinctively, the agent decided to play possum for the moment, closing his eyes, and sliding back down on the couch, pretending to still be knocked out as he heard a door open, and, from what he could tell from the voices, three people enter the room.

"So I suppose I'm not getting paid for going along on this little adventure of yours?" The first voice, that of a young woman, demanded, slightly indignant.

"This wasn't a job we got called out on. No money exchanged hands." Another, slightly older and calmer female voice replied. "We were simply taking care of a slight demon problem. Seems like they're pretty active tonight." Demon problem? Those things were demons? Seemed suspect, but with everything Leon had been through in the past, he was almost ready to believe it.

The voice that must have belonged to a third set of footsteps within the room said nothing, but seemed to make it's way over to the desk. Leon heard the chair behind the desk pull out, and the person belonging to the footsteps taking a seat, placing their feet upon the desk.

There was a slight pause as though both the female voices were waiting on the third party to weigh in. Finally, an obviously male voice spoke up.

"Sorry, Lady. Gotta go with Trish on this one. If I didn't get paid, then neither do you." The voice said nonchalantly, the sound of someone flipping through pages, sounding of something maybe of a magazine, coming from over by the desk.

The younger female voice, apparently belonging to someone named "Lady", made a slightly indignant noise but protested no further, giving Leon the idea that she kind of knew she had no leg to stand on to begin with. There was a pause and then she spoke again. "Is this him?" She asked. Leon was pretty sure she was referring to him, but kept his eyes shut, making no indication that he was awake, not knowing what to make of the situation.

"Yeah, that's him. No idea who he is. Looks like a federal agent from the ID I found on him, but the damn thing was so covered in blood and dirt, couldn't read much else. Found him passed out in the street earlier, bunch of Lusts around him. That's about the time I discovered our little demon problem this city was having tonight." The male voice replied, still nonchalant. So he was rescued? That was somewhat of a relief. Leon had enough with dealing with psychopaths for one lifetime. Leon heard pages move again, along with the sound of heels on the hardwood floor walking toward the desk.

"To be honest, I've never seen a human that could take that much punishment before. I'm actually kind of impressed, those demons weren't in very good shape when I got to them. I'm figuring he did most of the damage, and I just did the rest." Despite not knowing exactly what the male meant by this, Leon had to force himself not to smirk a bit.

The voice Leon had come to recognize as Trish chuckled from over by the desk. She must be the one wearing the heels. "Impressed? You even patched him up. You're not going soft on us, are you, Dante?" She said in a teasing voice.

"Hn." The male voice only gave a small, amused grunt and Leon heard the sound of another page being turned.

"So, do you think he'll be okay?" Lady asked, still off to the side of the couch, not actually sounding that far away.

"I think he'll be fine." Dante said casually. "I'm gonna let him stay on the couch until he heals up. Can't exactly throw him back to the demons in this state now can I?" Leon heard something shift and the sound of heels moving across the hardwood floor again, away from the desk.

"You have gone soft." Trish teased him, as her footsteps seemed to head for the door. Lady's seemed to be going with her, her footsteps also turning to head in that general direction.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Dante called over to them.

"Out." Trish simply replied. A few moments and footsteps later, Leon heard the door close and Dante mutter something about "crazy ass women driving him nuts." which caused the agent to have to try and force back another smirk.

It was quiet for awhile after Trish and Lady had taken off, the sound of what seemed to be the pages of a magazine turning every once in awhile coming from over by the desk, indicating that Dante hadn't left. Leon was starting to wonder if maybe he should make it known that he was conscious. No better time than now, he supposed. Opening his eyes, the agent attempted to sit up again, a small, involuntary groan coming from him as he did so. His body hurt like hell.

"So, sleeping beauty is finally awake. "The voice he'd come to recognize as Dante said. Finally, Leon turned his head to see the person the voice belonged to. A man, dressed in red and black sat at the desk. He looked to be in his early thirties despite the fact that his hair was an usual, almost platinum white color. His pose at the desk was just as nonchalant as his tone, his feet propped up on the desk, a magazine in his hands. "I'd take it easy if I were you. You may have given those demons a run for their money, but they made sure you didn't get away without something to remember them by either."

"Where am I?" Leon finally managed to get out, sitting back, hoping the searing pain through his chest, abs, back, and legs would go away. Nope. So much for that.

"My office." Dante replied, his tone still casual, having not set the magazine down. "The name's Dante, by the way. I brought you here after I found you half dead in the street. Don't bother with thankin' me though. I don't expect it."

He didn't offer much of an explanation after that, so Leon kept going with the questions. He had a couple.

"You disarmed me?" He asked, choosing to tilt his head in Dante's direction so he could see the demon hunter out of the corner of his eye. Turning around to see him hurt like a bitch.

"Aren't you full of questions?" Dante teased. "Look, I've already been shot, and had my own sword and a motorcycle thrown at me on different occasions for trying to help people before. I didn't exactly want a repeat of last time. Especially not with the toys you're packing. Stuff looks like it smarts." Leon watched Dante out of the corner of his eye, seeing him glance over at the pile of holsters and weapons on his desk before he moved to flip another page in his magazine. "Besides... had to get those damn holsters out of the way if I was going to get you patched up, right?"

He had a motorcycle thrown at him? Leon wasn't exactly certain whether he wanted to ask. A hand came up and Leon rubbed his eyes again before running it through his dark blond hair.

"Those things were..."

"Demons." Dante said, finishing his sentence. "Gotta admit, you put up one hell of a fight, even if they did still kind of kick your ass." He shut the magazine and tossed it down on the desk.

"Okay, my turn for questions." He said, still staying seated at his desk, feet still propped up. "Who the hell are you and where the hell did you learn to shoot like that? When I found you, a couple of the demons were already dead, both of them had a bullet right between the eyes. I don't know a whole lot of people who can manage that." There seemed to be a tinge of amusement in his voice that Leon couldn't exactly read.

"I've had a lot of practice." Leon said, idly noting how much of an understatement that was in the back of his mind. "My name's Leon. Leon Kennedy."

"A lot of practice, huh?" Dante mused. "Wouldn't have anything to do with why you were out there among hordes of demons at this ungodly hour, would it?"

"I work for the US government. I don't know if you remember hearing anything about the outbreak in Raccoon City, but I was brought on to help handle the aftermath. I was told there was an outbreak in this area."

"I think I remember hearing about that. That city wound up filled with zombies. They had to nuke the entire thing to the ground, didn't they?" Dante said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair slightly, feet still upon the desk.

"Yeah, they did." Leon replied simply. He remembered everything from Raccoon City too well. It was supposed to be his first day on the police force, but instead he found himself trying to escape complete and utter hell on earth crafted by Umbrella. Maybe he was realizing it too late, but Leon was starting to think his luck was a little less than stellar. Understatement.

"Well, I haven't seen any zombies wandering around here, but for some reason there have been more demons out than usual. I'm surprised my phone's not ringing off the hook." Dante commented, sounding a little disappointed in the last statement. "Figured that if it was going to be this bad out tonight, I'd at least get some business going here." From this, and his earlier conversation with Lady and Trish, Leon could gather that he was in the business of killing those creatures he referred to as demons. That was probably how Dante found him.

"Looks like the intel I got was a little off." Leon said, sounding someone strained as he shifted uncomfortably, he may be all patched up but he still hurt like hell. Mistaking demons for creatures created by Umbrella? Honestly, Leon wasn't exactly sure if he blamed his department or not.

"Well, Leon, you might as well get comfortable, because from the looks of those injuries, you're not going anywhere for awhile." Dante said, his tone staying casual as he picked up another magazine, flipping through it idly.

There was a short pause as Leon considered this statement. Dante had a point, he was still pretty messed up, any walking or moving right now was probably in the "bad idea" column at the moment. Then an idea occurred to him. Hunnigan. He should at least try to contact her and let her know what's happened.

"What happened to my cellphone?" Leon asked, trying to get another look at desk. He hadn't spotted it before, and he couldn't find a reason that Dante would remove it from his person.

"Hm?" Dante hummed, looking up from his magazine. "Oh, hate to break it to you, but I found it lying next to you in pieces. Not exactly sure what the demons had against your phone, but from the looks of it, whatever it was doing was pissing them off." He said in what Leon thought sounded like a joking tone. "Why? Got a girlfriend worried about you or something?"

"No, I just wanted to get back in touch with my department." He had a direct connection to Hunnigan through that phone. Damn. "Looks like they may just have to wonder where I am for awhile."

Leon knew that Dante had just been joking about the whole girlfriend thing, but Leon's thoughts traveled to Ada for a moment. She didn't give a damn about where he was. After everything they'd been through, of that much, Leon was positive.

"You should stop worrying so much." Dante commented. "You stress yourself out like you're doing right now and you're going to wind up worse off than you already are."

Leon turned slightly to watch Dante out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly remembered Trish's comment about how Dante had gone soft. Given Dante's nonchalant, almost carefree approach to things, hearing concern out of him did seem out of character, even after only having a first impression. Why did he care so much about him, about making sure he was alright?

"Besides, I put a lot of work into you. Don't go messing it up, okay?" Dante said, returning to his magazine.

Leon leaned back and closed his eyes. Maybe he should rest. "Hn. Fair enough."

He was injured, a thousand miles from home sent on a bogus mission, had no way of telling anyone he was okay, and he was being cared for by an enigmatic and outwardly seeming insouciant mercenary.

This was going to be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, well, well. Life had a funny little way of dropping things into his lap, didn't it? He wasn't exactly sure of _why_ there were so many demons running amok last night, but it seems after doing a sweep of the city, their activity calmed down to almost below normal levels. Which was disappointing, really, because it meant the only thing Dante had managed to gain out of the deal was an injured government agent crashing on his couch.

Really, he wasn't sure of how to feel when he found Leon Kennedy lying in the street. Obviously, the agent wasn't a push over, while he'd been surrounded by Lust demons when Dante had found him, that didn't discount the fact that Dante had found several Marionettes with very precise shots through them. Not to mention it seems that the Lusts around him seemed to be weakened a great deal, and unless you'd been fighting those kinds of things all your life, as a human that was a pretty tough task.

Really, the entire situation wasn't so horrible. Leon seemed like a good guy, and maybe Dante had a soft heart, but he couldn't leave him like that, severely injured, especially when it looked like he fought for his life. So after he'd found the agent, he brought him back to Devil May Cry and tried to patch him up before heading back out, allowing the agent to stay on his couch for the time being, while he tried to heal.

After Leon fell sleep again last night, Dante grabbed a blanket and covered him before deciding to go to bed himself. He had paused for a moment, watching the agent sleep. Heh. Wasn't half bad looking, actually. The way his dark blond hair seemed to fall in his face made Dante want to reach over and gently brush it out of the way. However, instead of doing so, the half demon shook his head and turned, starting up the stairs toward his bed room. He must be losing his mind.

However, when he woke up this morning, Dante had almost forgotten about the fact that there was now someone else living in Devil May Cry. Well, at least he had when he woke up to the alarm clock blaring. Why the hell had he bothered to set that thing again? Oh, right. His agent friend probably needed new bandages at this point. He'd get to that after he got a shower, and actually managed to wake up and have more coherent thoughts.

It was really kind of funny how he couldn't keep his mind off of the blond who was probably more than likely downstairs still sleeping on the couch. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to having someone around like this. Sure, Trish and Lady hung around, but they'd up and leave, sometimes together and Dante wouldn't see them for days, which made the demon hunter wonder what the hell it was they were out doing, which then made him question whether he wanted to know or not. Usually the answer he came back with was a resounding "no".

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed, Dante grabbed some more bandages for Leon and headed downstairs, finding the agent still asleep on his couch, and, unsurprisingly enough, no sign of Trish or Lady anywhere. He kind of hated to wake him, but those bandages weren't going to change themselves. Dante moved through a door toward the back that contained a small kitchen, grabbing a bowl and filling it with warm water, and grabbing a small, clean cloth. He'd cleaned the agent's wounds last night, but a touch up while he changed his bandages probably couldn't hurt anything since it was kind of a rushed job. He had to get back out there and take down the demons responsible, after all.

That aside, Dante wasn't exactly sure of how a lot of this care for injuries went. He usually didn't have to do too much of it himself, being able to withstand through and through stab wounds with his own sword no less (hell, he was lucky he actually had bandages laying around...), but he was going to try and make sure that the agent got back on his feet and back to, well, killing zombies or whatever it was he was doing.

When he reentered his office, he placed the bowl of warm water, the cloth, and the bandages on a nearby table, pausing a moment again to study Leon again as he lay there, still sleeping. Well, no one could say he was lying when he called the blond sleeping beauty could he? Kind of messed up, a guy having such perfect skin and long eyelashes. Would have made one hell of a cute girl. Dante held back the urge again to gently brush the dark blond hair the hung over Leon's eye. What the hell was he thinking? What had gotten into him lately? The demon hunter shook his head, as if trying to shake away any of the thoughts he was having, once again questioning what the hell it was he was doing. Either way, he had to wake the agent up and get those bandages changed.

"Time to get up, sunshine." Dante said playfully, gently nudging the agent's shoulder with his fingertips, taking care not to aggravate any of his wounds. The blond took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered open before he tried to sit up, almost as if he'd forgotten he'd been injured. Leon gave a pained look before settling gingerly back into the couch, looking over at Dante.

"Hey," He said sleepily, and Dante couldn't hold back a small smirk at the fact that it seemed like the agent had just realized where he was. Leon gave another small wince of pain before speaking again. "Morning already?"

"Something like that." Dante said with a slight chuckle. " I figured it'd probably be a good idea to change your bandages. Think you can sit up?"

Leon nodded, taking a deep breath as he tried to sit up, his breath slightly hitching as he did so. Dante didn't blame him for all the pain he was in. Hell, if he'd been a normal human, he'd probably come back to Devil May Cry every night banged up just as badly, and the idea of Trish or Lady taking care of him like this was almost laughable at best. Well, not that they wouldn't eventually do it, but it'd take a lot of whining and one or both of them giving in just to get him to shut up.

Dante took a seat behind Leon, getting started on the bandages that covered his back first. He didn't say much as he worked, Leon staying mostly quiet himself as Dante kind of marveled over how badly the demons had gotten him. Man, they were really out for blood last night. Dante didn't even remember it being this bad when he brought the agent back last night. Dante shook his head at the severity of the injuries, partially wondering if maybe Leon wasn't as completely human as he seemed. If he was, he was one of the most resilient ones Dante had ever seen. And that included Lady.

After he'd removed all the bandages from the agent's back, Leon finally spoke. "I know you told me not to bother with thanking you, but I wanted to anyway." He said quietly. "I get the feeling this isn't exactly something you normally do."

"Not normally, no." Dante replied, slightly amused by Leon's perceptive nature. "I don't know, it just seemed to me like you fought those demons off so hard that leaving you there seemed to be a shitty thing to do." Dante reached over for the cloth, dipping an edge of it into the warm water before beginning to gently clean the wounds along Leon's back, some of the dried blood coming up.

Dante saw Leon tilt his head slightly as though trying to look at him out of the corner of his eye. The agent seemed to be wearing a small smile. "Well, in any case, thanks."

"No problem."

Dante remained quiet for a little while longer as he continued to clean the wounds along Leon's back, making notes of scars that were already there, the little things that he had missed when he was in a rush last night. Must have been from all the other things he'd gone though. That was a shame, such perfect skin being marred like that. Kind of made Dante start to wonder what else the agent had been through.

"You must have been through a lot to get scars like these." He finally commented, fingertips running over the blond's back, minding the wounds there.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I don't exactly have the best of luck." Leon replied in a dry, joking tone. He paused for a moment, as Dante continued his work, almost having these wounds on his back cleaned.

"First day on the job for the Raccoon City police force was the same day of the outbreak." He finally explained. Dante looked up. Well, wasn't that a kick in the teeth?

"First day? Ouch." Dante sympathized. Sounded like his luck, to be completely honest about it.

"Yeah, things have been...kind of weird ever since then." Leon said, sounding as though he were trying to joke again. However, there was something else there that Dante knew Leon was hoping he'd miss, but didn't. That something else sounded sad. However, Dante didn't press the issue as he set down the wet cloth that now had a tinge of red to it back into the bowl of water, and began to put fresh bandages on the blond's back.

"I can imagine." In probably more ways than Leon knew, seeing as even though Leon's life may have been weird after that point, Dante's was probably one hundred times weirder. "Your back's done." Dante said, applying the last one before moving in front of Leon.

Leon shifted so that the demon hunter could reach him easier. Honestly, he could probably do this himself, but for some reason Dante found himself wanting to do this, even if he wasn't sure why.

Stripping off the bandages in the front revealed even more scars, including what looked to be a scar resulting from a gunshot wound. "Dude, you got shot? Last time I checked, zombies don't exactly pack heat..."

"That's what happens when you take a bullet for someone." Leon said seeming more quiet than earlier. Hm, musta been a touchy subject. Dante silently debated for a moment if he should press on and just ask, but his internal debate seemed to go to waste as the agent spoke again.

"Remember that first day I told you about? Met a woman who claimed to be a survivor. We wound up promising each other we'd get out together, and in the process, I wound up taking a bullet fired by an Umbrella researcher for her. In the end...she didn't make it out alive. Or at least...I thought she didn't." Leon said, looking like he was almost off in his own thoughts as he told the story.

Of course, some crazy ass woman. Dante usually wasn't up for judging based on gender, but he had yet to meet a woman who wasn't downright nuts. Don't get him wrong, he cared for Lady and Trish, but both of them had their moments where Dante had to wonder if they'd both escaped from some kind of insane asylum. Hell, the first thing Trish did when she met him was throw a friggin' motorcycle at him. Lady shot him in the face...

Dante's thoughts were cut short as Leon started to speak again. "Turns out, 6 years later, I'm in Spain, trying to rescue the president's daughter from a cult and I find her there, pressing a gun into my spine. She was working for the other side the entire time. She may have been playing them as well, I'm not entirely sure, but I know for certain that she wasn't the woman I fell for back in Raccoon City."

Ouch.

"Sounds like demon attacks are the least of your problems." Dante commented, his voice now quiet. He'd been through a lot, sure, but he was a half demon and, well, he could handle it. Leon on the other hand...human's lives are too short to be through so much screwed up shit. Knowing all of this...kind of made Dante want to care for him even more.

"Well, I'll tell you what, Mr. Kennedy." He said in a joking tone, trying to lighten up the mood a little as he continued to clean Leon's wounds. "At least while you're here, you won't have to worry about getting attacked by demons or zombies." He'd make sure of that. Dante had already put way too much work into this agent to let all his hard work get ruined. And...he had the feeling that Leon had been through enough of that shit to last four lifetimes. Maybe someone needed to look out for _him_ for a change.

"Crazy women, on the other hand, I'm not sure I can make any guarantees." Leon chuckled and Dante smirked. At least that made him feel a little better, right? "Kind of reached my quota there." He continued to joke as he reached for the bandages, beginning to replace them, his fingers gently ghosting over uninjured skin as he placed them over the wounds.

The agent chuckled again, as he watched Dante replace the bandages. "Damn. I was hoping to get rid of a few of mine." He joked.

Had a sense of humor too. Heh. He liked that.

Dante smirked as he put on the last bandage. "There you go. Good as new. At least until we have to change them again." He said getting up from the couch, gathering the bowl of water and the cloth he'd used to clean Leon's wounds, taking them back into the kitchen and dropping them off.

Before reentering the office, Dante sighed, thinking to himself. What was he getting himself into here? He'd only known Leon a day and already, the agent's story had him wanting to protect him? Well, gotta say, that doesn't happen every day.

Dante shook his head. He was over thinking this. He should just play the cards as he was dealt them and not worry about where it was all going. That's what he usually did, right?

Right?


	3. Chapter 3

He had to admit, he'd never had anyone take care of him. It'd always been him and him alone, always being the one to protect someone else, so being in this situation was kind of awkward at best. Then again, he also wasn't used to being stuck on someone's couch, beat to hell and back either. It still hurt to move most of the time, and while Leon was sure that he could probably get up and walk around, he knew he wouldn't be able to do it for long, or all that well, for that matter.

Granted, he'd probably be a lot worse off if it weren't for Dante. In fact, he'd probably be dead.

Giving a sigh, Leon leaned his head back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling fan, boredly trying to count the revolutions of the blades. Dante had gone off, called out on a job, leaving with Trish and Lady. So for now, Leon was here all by himself.

Leon shifted on the couch, wincing. He was still in a considerable amount of pain. Dante gave him some aspirin (which the demon hunter apparently only kept around for hangovers), and that seemed to have dulled some of the pain for awhile, but it was flaring again.

The agent shut his eyes and just started to wish that he'd heal up already. He liked Dante, to be completely honest, but he hated being immobile and out of contact with his department. He also hated the feeling of uselessness that came with the situation. It left him unsettled. Maybe he just wasn't...well, used to feeling this way, especially after everything he'd been through.

He wasn't sure of what time it was, but from the looks of outside the window, it was getting on in the evening, and Dante still hadn't returned. Leon sighed and wondered if maybe he should try and go back to sleep despite the pain, closing his eyes for only a moment when he heard footsteps outside, and then the door open.

"Yeah, yeah. Take it off my tab." He heard Dante's voice say, probably to Lady, if Leon hadn't missed his guess. The agent opened his eyes to see Dante shutting the door to his office, locking it.

"Closing down early?" Leon asked, wondering exactly how tired he sounded.

"Yeah, I think I'm done for the night." Dante replied, actually sounding a bit tired himself as he crossed over to his wall of weapons, taking the sword of his back and hanging it in it's appropriate place before taking a seat at his desk again. "Geeze, I must be getting old." He complained. "Contemplating going to bed already."

Leon chuckled at this statement but winced again. What? It hurt to laugh, even? He sighed. Figures.

Dante looked over at him, with a look that Leon read as something of slight concern. "Still in pain, huh?"

"Yeah..." Leon responded, breath hitching a bit as he tried to sit up. "I've been trying to get back to sleep..."

"Well, I could give you more aspirin, but I'm not sure how big of a help that's gonna be." Dante said. Leon heard the half demon open a drawer in his desk and start rummaging through it. The agent tilted his head, trying to see out of the corner of his eye what Dante was looking for.

"Found it." He heard the demon hunter mutter, seeing him pull out a box of what looked like pills and the bottle of aspirin that he was already familiar with.

"What's in the box?"

"Hm? Oh, sleeping pills. You said you were having trouble, right? I don't have much in the way of pain killers, but at least I got these." Dante replied. It wasn't much, but Leon couldn't argue that it was a bad idea. He was feeling restless anyway as it was. Combine that with the pain of his injuries, and well, he'd probably stay up all night without some help.

"Funny, you don't really strike me as type to need sleeping pills." He commented, as he heard Dante get up from his desk and grab a nearby bottle of water, bringing it to him. From the physical side of it, when he got back from jobs, he seemed just fine, uninjured, without physical issues to keep him up. Leon idly wondered if Dante had ever come back to his office in the same state he was in now. Emotionally, it seemed as though, with the way Dante carried himself in general, he was almost unweighed down by a lot of things. It just didn't seem like there was a lot that would keep him up enough. He heard the demon hunter chuckle as he sat down on the unoccupied part of the couch, handing him the medicine.

"I suppose in my line of work I might as well be nocturnal." Dante mused. "But then again, everyone's got something that'll keep them up at night, right?"

Leon paused before popping one of each of the pills into his mouth, considering this. He found it interesting that someone as supposedly carefree as Dante presented himself to be would make a statement like that. "I suppose you're right."

He opened the bottle of water and downed half of it quickly. Hopefully they would kick in soon. He was tired of this restless feeling he got from being incapacitated, if anything. He sighed and leaned his head back against the arm of the couch for a moment before gingerly running a hand through his dark blond hair. Even doing that seemed a bit painful if he wasn't careful. Damn demons.

"What about you?" He asked, deciding to sit back up again carefully after a moment. "Like I said, I can't see you having a whole lot other than demons keeping you from sleeping."

"Hn." Dante snorted. "Well, I suppose fair is fair, right?"

Leon watched as Dante got up from the couch, kind of wandering toward his desk like he was momentarily lost in thought.

"You wind up having a lot of nightmares when you watch demons slaughter your mother while you and your brother barely make it out alive." He finally said, his voice quieter than usual. "Kind of hard on an 8 year old, you know? Years later, this huge divide grew between me and my brother...after awhile, I didn't even know him anymore. Really, the day I lost her was pretty much the day I lost just about everything."

Suddenly it became very plain to Leon why Dante did what he did, even with Lady hounding him for money, and jobs that didn't seem to pay much. He was looking to set things right for the family that was no longer there. Leon was almost at a loss for words. However, before he could think to say anything, Dante spoke again.

"I don't usually tell people that. Not even people I've known for a long time." Dante said, sounding almost amused. "I know you a couple days and you manage to get it out of me like it's nothing."

A small, somber smile crossed Leon's lips at that statement. "I can't imagine it's that easy to talk about."

"Then again, I'm willing to bet neither are any of the things you told me." Dante replied.

He had a point.

They were both silent for a moment as Leon mulled over the information he'd just received.

"Maybe we both just needed someone to tell it to." He said finally. Honestly, there had been something...strangely cathartic in telling Dante what he had. It was odd, considering he didn't usually discuss his ordeal in Raccoon City or in Spain at length unless it was work related. Even if it was with someone who was with him at the time.

There was a short pause. "Yeah...maybe we did." He heard Dante reply quietly. He then heard the demon hunter sigh and take his seat back at his desk, boots once again resting on top of it. "So, pills kicking in yet?"

A small, amused smile crossed Leon's lips. Dante was changing the subject. Maybe the conversation had grown too heavy. And, really, he was starting to feel sleep set in once more, so maybe it was for the best. Guess the pills were doing their job. "Yeah, I think so."

He slid back down onto the couch with a wince (he still hurt quite a bit, though it was much more dulled than earlier), closing his eyes. "Dante?"

"Yeah?"

"About your mom...I'm sorry."

"Ancient history. But...thanks for listening to it anyway."

"No problem."

Leon started to drift off, his last thoughts before sleep being that there was apparently there was more to the man who saved him than he liked to present. It was...interesting, really. Maybe being stuck on this couch wasn't a horrible thing. Maybe if he hung around...he'd find out more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: **Okay, first I want to apologize to those of you who were waiting for me to continue this. I hit a brick wall and I wasn't exactly sure of where to go. I've also had a few concerns with pacing. Too much information given all at once. Most of that is because I hadn't really intended on this fic being much more than a oneshot.

Since I've been away from it for awhile, I've also got the worry that these next two chapters don't really fit the tone of the story from when I started it. Also I...kind of banged out these last chapters late at night while I was a little more than sleep deprived. I am trying to go somewhere with this, and I promise I'll _try _to be more regular with updating this fic, but we'll have to see. I'm honestly really just surprised that people are reading this and asking for more, if we're being real.

* * *

He was slowly starting to come to the realization that he wasn't looking forward to the day Leon headed out. Sure, Dante wanted him to get well, but…it was kind of complicated. Dante liked the guy. A lot. Enough to tell him about his past. He usually didn't open up to much of anyone, and especially not that quick. Trish and Lady knew bits and pieces of his past, but part of that was because their involvement in most of it. Beyond that, Dante kept them at arms length with a joke and a cocky remark. Leon…somehow he was a different story. Maybe it was because he'd trusted him enough to tell him things that Dante was pretty certain wasn't a topic of discussion with much of anyone else.

Guess it didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes either, if he was gonna be honest. It was no secret that Dante was a giant flirt when it came to just about any good looking woman, but that didn't mean he didn't notice when a guy was attractive. Especially when a guy was as attractive as Leon.

Attractive, likable, skilled, great sense of humor, good heart…Shit, all of that was dangerous. Flirting and not following through was one thing. Winding up closer to someone than what he was usually comfortable with was another. Just flirting and playing around served to put up more walls, and allowed him to protect himself and those involved, but Dante was starting to wonder if he wasn't actually starting to…well, like Leon a little more than he'd planned.

That was a problem. He liked keeping people a comfortable distance. And sure, he did it to protect himself, but it wasn't like he wasn't doing it for everyone else's good too. If anyone were to get too involved with the infamous son of Sparda, they'd find themselves with a target on their back pretty quick. Lady and Trish knew that already, so they were hanging around him at their own risk, and they knew it, but all the same Dante kept them at a comfortable distance. Whether that was for his own protection or for theirs, he wasn't sure.

All these thoughts, these realizations passed through Dante's head late at night, long after he'd gone to bed, after Leon fell asleep. The half demon laid there in bed on his back, staring at the ceiling as he thought about everything that'd happened over the past week or two. When he'd found Leon laying there in the street, he'd never imagined it coming to this. What really sucked is that Dante knew that Leon would be ready to leave sooner than he thought.

He'd already seen signs that it was coming. Leon was still in a considerable amount of pain, but his smaller wounds were starting to heal up, and he was able to sit up a bit better. He could even get up and walk around for a period of time without it hurting too much, though he'd eventually return to the couch for the fear of reopening or aggravating some of his injuries. He healed fast for a human, Dante would give him that.

Kind of a double edged sword there, Dante knew it was probably better for the both of them that Leon got well and took off. After all, his superiors were probably wondering where the hell he was. He was actually kind of surprised no one had tracked him down yet. He knew that it was probably a good idea to not let Leon get any closer than he already was. Too many variables. What happened if a more powerful demon went after Leon later because of his connection to him? All the same, he kind of wanted him to stay…

The half demon sighed into the silence of his bedroom, running a hand through his white hair. He had a nasty feeling he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, despite the fact that business had been slow so he closed down a little earlier than usual to see if he could get some shut eye. His mind just wouldn't shut off. At this rate, he'd probably wind up sleeping at his desk tomorrow.

Dante continued to lay there, hearing the sound of a car's tires screeching a few streets over. People in this damn city didn't know how to drive. He didn't think much about it until he heard a crash, causing him to sit up. Some drunk asshole wrap themselves around a street light again? With all the bars in the area so it was possible, and definitely not the first time. However, that idea left as quick as it'd come to him when he heard gunshots and a scream outside. Shit.

He got up out of bed, grabbing a pair of pants that he'd left discarded on the floor, pulling them on and headed into the office, not quite bothering enough to put a shirt on. He flicked on the lights to the office, seeing Leon already up and by a window, holsters already on and a gun drawn, looking disoriented and groggy, but somehow still ready for whatever was about to happen.

"I take it you heard that too, huh?" Dante said, walking over to his chair and throwing on his red leather coat before grabbing Ebony and Ivory. Leon looked over at him and nodded. "Might be nothing. Could be some drunk idiots getting into a fender bender and then getting into a fight with each other." Nothing about this exactly exactly pointed to demons yet, or infected, if that's what Leon was thinking.

"I'm not sure I want to take that chance." The blond replied. Dante shook his head.

"Look, you're still injured." He pointed out. "You're getting better, but you're not back up to speed. You should probably sit this one out. If you open one of those wounds of yours-"

"I know the risk." Leon said, cutting him off. "I can't sit by while there's something going on. Especially now that I can move again."

Dante frowned as he strapped Rebellion to his back. "Move again" was probably kind of generous, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to talk Leon out of this. "Alright," he acquiesced. "You can tag along, but don't go getting' yourself hurt all over again. Like I said, I've put a lot of work into you, you know."

He'd half expected Leon to scowl at that statement, but instead the blond gave Dante something of a half smile that he didn't have time to read into as he heard more gunshots. Whatever was going on, it was pretty apparent at this point that it wasn't some drunken road rage incident. Now ready, Dante headed for the door, opening it and heading out, knowing Leon wouldn't be far behind.

The street Devil May Cry was on seemed quiet enough, but there was a tell tale orange-ish glow about a street over. Christ, had the wreck been bad enough to start a fire? Dante stopped for a moment and drew one of his guns as Leon reached his side. "Looks like the party's that way." He commented nodding toward the direction of the glow. Leon nodded and started to lead the way. Dante frowned and quickly caught up with him. Seemed to be within his nature to want to take the lead in figuring out what the hell was going on in a situation like this, but that didn't change the fact that he was injured. Figures, he was just as stubborn as the half demon looking out for him.

They managed to find the origin of all the commotion, and it was actually pretty damn close to how Dante had guessed it. There was a car that had obviously hit a street lamp, knocking it over and sparking a fire, catching the car in the process. Before he and Leon could even get too close, the car gave off another small explosion, causing them both to raise their arms to shield themselves from it. "Shit…" Dante cursed. He looked over at Leon. "I dunno about you, but this doesn't look like your average drunk driver wreck."

"Not even close." Leon replied. "I thought I heard gunshots, though. Where did they come from?"

Dante scanned the scene, taking a few more steps forward. If there was someone still in the driver's side of the car, they were probably charred now. Whoever did the autopsy on that poor son of a bitch would probably have to look at their dental records. As they got closer, he could see there were two or three bodies laying on the ground. Leon made a move to rush forward, but Dante held out his arm. With a wreck and a fire like that following it, if there wasn't anything fishy going on here, there was a good chance they were already too far gone to help anyway. He half expected Leon to protest or move around him, but he didn't. Instead Dante moved forward himself. At least if there was another explosion, he could handle what came with it. Shrapnel and fire weren't nearly as hazardous when you were a half demon. Still hurt like hell, but they didn't mean death.

Dante approached one of the bodies, kneeling by it. He spotted a 9 mm pistol nearby and frowned. Well, there's where your gunshots came from. He reached over and turned over the body to get a good look…

"Shit," he heard Leon curse. The body Dante had turned over looked like something straight out of a zombie movie. It looked like someone had taken it down, though, as Dante noticed a sizable bullet hole though it's head. He looked back up at Leon. This was bad.

"Probably means this isn't the last of them, right?" He asked. Leon nodded.

"If there's some here, then there's more, and they're probably spreading."

Dante groaned. "You know, I was kind of hoping to avoid getting nuked in my lifetime." He wished that was an overreaction, but Dante knew what'd happened after Raccoon became overrun. Leon frowned, and turned his attention to another body laying nearby, turning them over too.

"Maybe you will." He commented, giving a pained look as he strained his injuries to kneel by the body. Dante stood and turn to look. This one looked human, not that you could tell exactly considering part of their face was missing. "They still look human, but they have bite marks. Looks like they shot the infectee and after they were bitten then took their own life."

"So you're saying this thing contained itself?" Dante asked. But how did it start in the first damn place?

Leon shook his head. "Not likely. The Harvardville outbreak was one of the shortest and best contained outbreaks I've ever seen and that's because the response was so quick. This had to start somewhere and I doubt it was with these two."

Dante frowned. Harvardville. The outbreak in the airport? He remembered hearing about that not too long ago, and from what he'd heard, the whole area was a quarantined mess after. This was bad. Really bad. Who knew who else was out there, infected and spreading it around? However, before he could respond to that, he heard a groaning noise behind him. Goddammit. He turned to see hunched, shambling figures moving toward them from the direction of one of the bars. His best guess was that was ground zero.

"Zombies aren't usually my thing," he quipped, both of his guns now drawn. "But it looks like I've got some work to do."

In his periphery, Dante caught sight of Leon trying to stand as quickly as he could, and the half demon made a mental note to stick close by him. In good health, Leon could probably handle this mess until backup showed, no problem, but right now he wasn't 100%. Dante wasn't even completely sure he was 50%.

"Shoot them in the head!" Leon called, taking the first shots into the horde, knocking a few back, and completely blowing the head off one of the zombies in the group. Headshots, huh? Worked for him. Dante followed the example, Ebony and Ivory's shots landing right between the eyes of several of the horde, bodies falling to the ground. However, it seemed like no matter how many they shot, more seemed to take their place. Just how much of this city was overrun?

Leon moved forward quickly, and before Dante could say another word or do anything, he gracefully kicked one of the infected in the head, causing it's head to basically explode, the force of the whole thing pushing the group in front of them back. However, he hadn't missed the agent's pained expression, or him clutching at his side and stumbling backward a step or two after the movement. "Cool it on that, huh?" Dante called over his own gunfire. "You'll wind up hurting yourself more than these things will!"

"I doubt that." Leon replied. However, before either of them could say much else, Dante heard the blades of a helicopter in the distance. That spelled either more trouble or help, and he wasn't sure which at the moment. In a quick movement, he drew Rebellion, opting to decapitate some of the horde that was in their way, the chopper quickly approaching. He didn't get very far into the group before the helicopter was within range, firing down on the group below. There wasn't much for immediate cover around here, especially not from fire from an aircraft. Shit, didn't they know there were still living people down here?

"Get down!" The half demon called, rushing over to Leon and pulling him into a kneeling position, wrapping himself and his coat around the agent, trying to shield him from the gunfire. If Leon had given him a response, Dante couldn't hear it over the sound of gunfire and the blades of the chopper against the air. It didn't matter. Leon could protest all he wanted, Dante could take the hits, he couldn't. He stayed still, shielding Leon as a hailstorm of bullets rained down on the horde.

He knew every once in awhile he wished for a little excitement, but this wasn't exactly what he meant.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry this ends on something of a cliff hanger, and I'm sorry it's a lot shorter of a chapter than usual. I promise you won't have to wait long for the next one. At least not as long as you waited for these last two. I'm still rather surprised anyone was actually waiting for me to update, but I suppose for all I know someone could be waiting for me to update it so they could MST it or something. Anyway, here it go: Chapter 5.

* * *

The next few moments were so quick that it seemed like one minute he was hearing the sound of a helicopter nearing their position, and the next, there was a shout and he was being pulled down, and into a protective position against a warm chest, a swirl of red surrounding him as he heard gunfire coming from the helicopter. Dante? Leon reached up and placed a hand against his chest, steadying himself. He'd shielded him? Just like that?

Leon didn't protest, didn't move, just winced a little and leaned against Dante. He might not readily admit it, but he was right. He shouldn't have tried to kick those infected like that. He wasn't certain if he'd reopened his wounds or not, but there was a searing pain running up his side. Eventually the gunfire stopped and Leon felt Dante lift his head, causing him to lift his own to look up and see a blinding spotlight shining down on them from the aircraft above them. "This entire area is now under quarantine." A megaphone system announced. "Please stay where you are. Medical attention and authorities are on their way."

He was fairly certain that he heard Dante snort at the announcement as the helicopter hovered for a few moments before moving on. Yeah, medical attention after they'd nearly shot them both. "Looks like word travels fast." Leon muttered. He wasn't sure what organization had found them, whether it was the US government or the BSAA, but unless this was also happening in other parts of the city, that was probably the quickest response to an outbreak that Leon had ever seen. "That or there's something funny going on…"

Dante frowned and looked back over to where the helicopter was, the aircraft now a faint spot with flashing lights in the distance, before turning his attention back to Leon. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Leon breathed in response with a nod. It took him a moment, but he looked down at where his hand laid on Dante's chest. Neither of them had really moved, Dante's arms still around him. They both hesitated for a split second before Dante cleared his throat and stood, offering him a hand up. Leon took it, wincing at a sharp pain in his side as he stood.

"You really think they'll get this under control?" Dante asked, surveying the area around them. The horde that'd come after them was decimated by the helicopter, but Leon was still on guard. There was no telling what they may have missed or what might be lurking in the many alleys around this place.

Leon frowned. "Not sure. It's harder to contain something like this. Harvardville was just an airport. You let someone infected with the T-virus into an open area in a city and it can be over in a matter of hours."

"Lets hope they know what they're doing." Dante replied. "You and I are good, but I got the feeling that it's gonna take more than two people to put this thing to bed."

Dante was right. If it was just the two of them taking this on, chances are it would turn from prevention to running for their lives with a countdown to a missile launch being their timer. "I guess all we can do now is wait…"

* * *

As it turned out, the response to this outbreak was really just that quick. It was maybe fifteen to twenty minutes before the other support moved in, locking down the area, setting up barriers, and looking for survivors. A medical area was quickly set up, and workers set to putting out the fire started by the car crash. Leon was surprised that everything had moved this fast, but he supposed that people were slowly starting to learn the lesson that this wasn't something you could let go. Massive amounts of people could become infected, and entire cities could be lost in a matter of hours.

Both he and Dante were questioned, and Leon was taken by the medical staff to get checked out. They had some questions about his previous injuries from when Dante found him, but finding nothing actually relating to the outbreak, they gave him antibiotics for his injuries and told him not to leave the city. The place was still under quarantine. Probably would be for awhile. Seemed like his stay at Devil May Cry was extended by a bit.

Dante was waiting by the medical tent when he exited, the both of them looking to head back when Leon heard a familiar voice behind him. "Leon?"

He turned to spot a young woman in a suit and glasses, her hair pulled back. "Hunnigan? What are you doing here?"

"I was sent to help oversee some of the operations here, as well as look for you, since we hadn't heard from you in weeks. Good to see you're okay, but…what's going on?" She asked. Great. How would he explain this? Was there a good explanation? One that she would believe? One that wouldn't make him sound absolutely crazy?

He and Dante exchanged unsure glances. Finally Leon looked back over at his handler. "Hunnigan…you're going to want to sit down for this."


	6. Chapter 6

"Demons." The word came out incredulous, not that Dante supposed he could blame her. Leon's handler, seated on his couch in Devil May Cry, looked over the rim of her glasses at the both of them like they'd just lost the minds. Dante wasn't completely surprised. Most humans still regarded demons as a myth. Leon handled the idea a little better than most, but he supposed with all the weird shit he'd seen in his life, combined with an actual encounter with the damn things, he was a little more willing to accept it.

"That's what we said, babe." Dante replied, ignoring the glare that the word "babe" had earned him. "Demons. The real thing. I found Leon after he was attacked."

Hunnigan pinched the bridge of her nose, and closed her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know whether to believe the both of you or have you committed."

"I know it sounds insane, but it's the truth. What I ran into were not victims of a virus." Leon replied. "They attacked, I was incapacitated, and my phone was destroyed. Given all the security protocol, I knew I had no way to reach you unless you somehow tracked me down or someone came looking for me."

"But Leon, how the hell do you expect me to explain 'demons' to my superiors?" Hunnigan asked. Okay, good question, Dante would give her that. That kind of thing was why the demon hunter didn't like the idea of having a boss to report to.

Leon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know." He admitted. "But you know I wouldn't lie to you like this. If I did, I think you'd give me more credit to come up with something better than 'demons'." Dante quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Leon, not sure if he should be insulted by that or not, but the agent didn't seem to notice.

"True." Hunnigan replied, in a relenting tone. "Look, I'll pull a few strings and cover for you, but I want reports. On this incident and the one that caused you to be stranded here in the first place. If what you're talking about is true, then we could have an even bigger problem on our hands than just an outbreak. Do you know if any of these demons are susceptible to the viruses?" She the emphasis she placed on the word "demons" made Dante wonder whether he should be insulted or not, but he decided to go ahead and answer anyway.

"Not exactly. Demons are generally immune to most human diseases. I mean I'm sure given time and resources, I guess someone could engineer something…"

"That's what I'm worried about."

"So what's the deal then?" Dante asked, looking between Hunnigan and Leon. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't even just a little curious as to what would come next.

"Well, I'm here until the quarantine is over, at the very least." Leon replied, crossing his arms. He winced slightly at the action. They'd given him some painkillers for his injuries, but it looked like they hadn't really kicked in yet. "I'm still not completely healed either…"

Hunnigan got that frown again that, as Dante had already figured out, meant she was thinking. "I think you should stay in the area." She replied to Leon. "I'm not for certain, but I have a hunch this encounter you had and the recent outbreak might not be a coincidence. I'll tell my superiors you're here to assist in the clean up of the outbreak until you can gather some more information."

"Understood." Leon replied.

"In the meantime, I'll work on getting you a replacement for your phone." She continued. "And make arrangements to get you your own accommodations."

It was right around then that Dante felt his heart plunge into his stomach, and he wasn't quite sure why.

Leon gave Hunnigan a nod. "Sounds good."

Hunnigan sighed and rose from the couch. "I suppose I need to get back out there. In the meantime, you need to recover. For the time being you're staying here, right?"

Leon nodded. "For now."

There was that sinking feeling again. Dante tried to ignore it.

"I'll have your new phone sent here. I'm glad you're alright, Leon." Hunnigan said before looking at Dante. "Thank you for your help, Dante."

"No problem." The words came out a bit quieter than he'd meant them to.

With that, Hunnigan left, and the whole thing left Dante warring with himself.

Instead, he tried to push it back, something to deal with later, and looked over at Leon. "So what do we do now? Do we go out there and try to help or mind our own business?"

"As much as I'd love to help, there's a point where we'd just be getting in the way of the procedure." Leon responded. "The response was quick, but I'm guessing it's because the intel I got wasn't as faulty as I originally thought." Made sense, they'd sent him here to look into this kind of thing in the first place, right?

Leon moved to sit on the couch, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. "Besides, I have orders to rest, I suppose." He added. Dante nodded not sure of what else to add to that. "I guess I should try to get back to sleep."

Dante had almost forgotten that they'd both been woken up by what just happened. Well, Leon woke up, his own mind had just been unable to quiet itself so he'd been staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep that wouldn't come. Dante wasn't entirely sure it would come now. "Yeah, I should probably get back to sleep myself." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I'll see you in the morning, right?"

Leon lifted his head and nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."

With that Dante turned and started for his bedroom.

"Hey, Dante?"

He paused but didn't look back. "Yeah?"

"I know I've already said it, but thanks. For everything."

A small, slightly sad half-smile crossed his lips before he continued toward and into his bedroom. "Yeah, no problem."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's notes:** For my friend who complained about the content of this story being "shounen ai" without a warning in the summary, this fic is clearly labeled under Romance/Hurt/Comfort with the two most prominent characters in the story displayed right along with it in the description. At this point in time, I do not have any plans to post an additional warning. I do not feel the need to hold your hand and think for you. I would also like to point out, as I had earlier, your discomfort with same sex relationships is not my problem. If you are truly so bothered, please utilize your browser's capability to go somewhere else. Another story, perhaps?

I do have respect for my readers. I have respect for readers who offer decent concrit and thoughts or actually took the time out of their day to tell me how much they enjoyed the fic. I even have respect for people who read my fic and say nothing at all, instead of readers with the very base of their complaint being "omg gays are icky you should have warned me." on a fic that, currently has, at most, mild sexual tension in it, and is listed in the appropriate genre for it's content.

I'm sure you have so much more to say in the light of this direct response to you (thanks for complaining so much with your PM closed, by the way), but this is the last I will speak on the matter. Thanks.

**For the rest of you**, thanks for sticking with me. I apologize profusely for all the fuss, and I promise I will no longer entertain it, or subsequent fusses like it. I realize that author's notes should be left to dealing with the actual writing itself, and not petty issues. With that in mind, here go chapter 7.

* * *

He'd said he was going back to sleep, but Leon found it almost impossible to get back there. Part of it was the fact that there was an outbreak raging out there, but not only was he not in any place to help due to his injuries, but the US government had already sent in plenty of help, locking down the areas effected, and enforcing a quarantine, and administering vaccines. Before they'd…explained the reason he'd been stuck here with no way to contact Hunnigan, she'd briefed him on where the outbreak had started, the areas effected, and how they planned to shut it down. Leon was surprised at how quick they'd caught it, the outbreak being so small that the immediate intervention was able to keep it from spreading. If only it could work that way every time.

The other reason he had a hard time getting back to sleep was entirely different, and rather complicated. Despite the state he was in when he was brought here, he didn't find staying at Devil May Cry to be actually all that unpleasant. Not only had Dante done quite a bit for him, but there was something else there. Leon wasn't sure if it was imagined or real, but all the things he and Dante had talked about were things that weren't easily discussed with strangers. And yet…somehow…

Leon shifted on the couch, moving onto his side for a split second before he grimaced and moved to his previous position. Okay, bad idea. His injuries were healing, but they were still pretty fresh, and the pain killers he'd been given weren't enough to stop them from complaining if he aggravated them by moving suddenly or applying uneven pressure. No telling how long it would be before he actually healed enough to get back to work. He sighed, laying on his back, turning his head to look over at the door leading to Dante's room.

On top of how much they already knew about each other, he couldn't stop thinking about how Dante had protected him out there. Despite his "I-couldn't-care-less" attitude, he'd stepped between Leon and the bullets raining down from a helicopter that was technically supposed to be protecting them. All their conversations, the gentle chiding over aggravating his wounds, and that moment combined told him that Dante tended to care about things a lot more than he actually let on. Leon wasn't sure what to make of that, if he was completely honest. Leon liked Dante, but…he was starting to think he liked the side of Dante that he hid away from others even more. He wanted to see more of it, actually.

He had a feeling he couldn't do that if he left. Sure, he'd be asked to stay in the area, asked to investigate the cause of this outbreak, but Hunnigan would soon find him some cheap motel or apartment somewhere where he could crash at night, and, well, that would bring this story to an end. He had a feeling his chances of seeing Dante after that were probably pretty slim, unless there was another outbreak, or he was attacked by demons again, and he wasn't sure how likely either event would be. Leon closed his eyes, laid his head back against the armrest of the couch, and sighed through his nose. But what choice did he have? He had a job he needed to do, and people who had ways of making sure he damn well did it the way they wanted him to.

When it came down to it, though, he didn't want to leave. Not really.

The really complicated part was the fact that he wasn't really certain of how Dante felt about that idea. Even with the thought that Dante probably cared more than he really let anyone know, Leon wasn't sure if he would still want him here after he healed. Maybe it was just pessimism and overthinking creeping in, but Leon wasn't entirely sure he wanted to go through yet another phase of chasing the idea of being around someone who didn't actually want him there. He'd done enough of that for one lifetime. He was caught between wondering if Dante's front was really just easily breakable with the right set of variables, or if it was just him. Not knowing made Leon wonder if maybe leaving really was the right decision.

He had a feeling that if he continued to think about this, he'd probably continue to go back and forth in his mind and never really come to any kind of conclusion. Maybe it was better if he actually tried to get some sleep instead of letting his mind run wild like this. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd gain some clarity in the morning. He wasn't going to hold his breath, however.

Instead, Leon let his mind wander, trying to relax and shake off all these thoughts. Thoughts of what was going on just beyond the door of Devil May Cry, thoughts of whether or not he should stay, thoughts of whether or not he'd be allowed to stay…All of them melted away, and were replaced by the recent memory of a flash of a red coat, concerned, ice-blue eyes, and the feeling of being surrounded by strong, warm arms. He wasn't sure he could really explain why, but that managed to drain away what was left of the anxiety, and he felt himself slowly starting to drift off.

Funny how something like that could actually bring him some peace.


End file.
